4 Years Ago

"Wait!" Chanyeol pulled Bora's arm. She tried to pry his hand away, but he took her other arm and made her face him. "Don't you have anything you want to apologize to me for?"

Bora didn't dare to look at him in the eyes and just stared at the ground.

"Nothing?" Chanyeol shook her by her shoulders. "Is our relationship just like that?"

A tear escaped her eye and she slowly raised her gaze to meet his. It torn her heart apart to see the look of pain in his eyes, but she couldn't back down now.

Chanyeol's eyes were red as he tried to hold back his tears. "Why?" He shook her again. He pursed his lips to prevent the tears from falling, but they already escaped his eyes. "Why?! Why did you say that?"

Bora closed her eyes causing another tear to fall on her cheek. "I'm going," she softly answered. She opened her eyes and added, "and I'm not coming back."

Chanyeol took a step back as his grip on her arms loosened. He blinked several times, trying to process what she just said. He then pulled her closer again. "What? Where?" She just lowered her head, not replying. "That's the only reason?" He shook her shoulders when she didn't answer. "That's it right? That's the only reason, right? If distance is the matter, then don't you worry. We can video chat or something. I can visit you from time to time. We don't have to break up-"

"I'm not coming back, Chanyeol!" She yelled before she sighed. "Why can't you understand that?"

"Because you're saying nonsense!"

"That's not the only reason," she revealed.

"What? Then what else? Tell me! Make me understand!" He was frustrated by her decision.

Bora lowered her head, closing her eyes. She gulped down the lump in and in her heart before she took a deep breath. "I don't love you anymore," she said over a whisper.

"No! You're lying!"

"I'm not!" She insisted, her head still bowed.

"Well then, look at me!" He shook her again while she tried so hard to hold back more tears. "Look at me, Bora!" His hands moved to cup her face, lifting her head, but her eyes still looked away. "You're lying! Look at me and say that again!" He felt his heart twisted.

Bora's eyes finally looked back at his. None of them could bear the look of pure sorrow in each other's eyes.

"I...," she started with quivering lips. Her eyes held his steadily. "I... I don't love you anymore, Chanyeol." She felt her heart trampled on the ground as those words came out of her own lips.

Chanyeol's eyes rounded and his hands slowly slipped away from her face.

"Now you believe me? Hm?" She bit the inside of her cheeks at the sight of him tearing up.

Chanyeol slowly took steps back. He turned around and bit the fist of his hand hoping it would ease up the pain in his heart. Bora was silently sobbing behind him as he tried to blink away his tears.

"I still don't believe you!" He turned back around to face her, startling her.

They just stood there staring into each other's eyes for what felt like the longest time. Bora was the first to break their gaze as she slowly turned around, looking at the ground.

"I have to go." She then briefly glanced at him. "Good bye, Yeol."

Before she could walked away any further, she felt his hand pulling her elbow. She looked back at him whose eyes were getting redder.

"Don't go," he spoke with a sob. "Please," he added.

Yet, she slowly pushed his hand away. "We're done. Let's just...forget about each other now."

She quickly walked away leaving Chanyeol. He had no more strength to chase after her.

The tears that she had been holding up, now broke away. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Chanyeol.

"Unnie! The Prince is here!" Luna announced.

"Oh really?" Bora lifted her head and smiled at Luna. She then raised her gaze to him who was standing behind Luna.

She was taken aback for a second when she looked at his eyes. Staring at his eyes left a tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was something about his eyes and just everything about him.

Bora pushed away her thoughts before she finally managed a smile. "Hi!" She greeted.

Chanyeol was just blinking at her, so she stood up and extended a hand to him.

"Chanyeol, right?" The said guy only continued staring at her as if he was seeing a ghost. It caused Bora to raise her brows.

Chanyeol slowly lowered his gaze to her still-extended hand before looking back up at her eyes.

"Bora?" He said above a whisper.

Hearing her name spoken with such delicacy in his soft deep voice sent an unfamiliar pleasant feeling down her spine. But what surprised her more was the fact that he knew her name.

Her eyes rounded a bit as she slowly retracted her hand. "Whoa!" She let out a soft chuckle. "How did you know my name? Did Miss Moon tell you already?"

Chanyeol looked flustered before he opened his mouth again. "You...you don't know me?"

"Hm?" Bora arched a brow and gave out a confused smile. "Oh! I know you're the kids' prince," she beamed gesturing randomly at the kids. "They've been telling me about you ever since I came."

When her eyes found his again, she furrowed her brows a bit. It weirdly bothered her to see a look of what seemed like sorrow in his eyes.

He soon broke their gaze. "Oh," he replied simply before walking toward the kids and sat down amongst them on the ground.

"So you're now folding paper cranes too?" Chanyeol asked the kids.

"Yes, Hyung!" Jongin answered, standing up and proudly showing Chanyeol his folded paper crane. The boy then plopped down on Chanyeol's lap. "We're going to help you, Hyung." He smiled looking up at the older guy.

"Help me?" Chanyeol raised his brows.

Jinri scrambled up her feet and sat on his lap too. "We're going to help you meet your princess again."

"What made you guys think I was telling a story of myself?" He asked amused.

"Because Oppa is handsome just like a prince!" Luna answered batting her eyelashes and grinning widely.

Chanyeol let out a soft chuckle at the answer.

"And pretty Noona is going to help us too!" Kyungsoo added, leaning his head on Bora's shoulder.

Chanyeol didn't even realize that she had already taken a seat in front of him. He felt his world stop spinning when he saw her smile. He used to automatically smile along when she did too, but now? Now he couldn't.

You don't have to fold more cranes, kids. His mind spoke as he watched her helped Kyungsoo and another girl to fold their paper cranes. The princess is back. He tore his gaze from her when Luna stood in front of him to show her pink paper crane. He stole a glance at Bora again after he complimented Luna.

Bora looked back and gave him a small smile he couldn't return. He looked away instead and helped Jongin and Jinri fold another paper crane.

But I guess she had kept her words. She had forgotten about me.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Chanyeol winced at the pain and rubbed his ear, glaring at the girl beside him. "What was that for?!"

Krystal pouted. "You weren't listening to me, Oppa!"

"Geez! Why are you childish! And you know I don't like it when people touch my ears." Chanyeol clicked his tongue.

It was true. He didn't like it. He didn't talk to his brother for almost a month when Soohyuk had once playfully pulled his ears. The only person he allowed to do so, besides his Mom, was Bora.

"And who's childish now?" The girl poked out her tongue at him. "I was just asking how to sing this part, but you weren't listening."

They were in a glaring battle before she finally turned her gaze back to the paper on her hand. They were in the studio preparing to record the new song again.

Chanyeol sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "She's back, Krys," he told her above a whisper.

"Who?" Krystal looked at him, arching a brow. When he just looked back at her with sadness in his eyes, she immediately understood whom he was talking about and formed an 'o'. She then awkwardly looked away before clearing . "You don't look happy," she stated her observation. "Isn't that what you want? For her to be back?"

"I don't even know what I want anymore." He lowered his head.

"Why?" Krystal scooted her chair closer to his.

"She didn't remember me."

"Huh?" She blinked surprised. "How does that even possible?"

Chanyeol propped his elbows on the table and pressed the heels of his palms on each eyes. "I don't know," he answered with a heavy sigh. "I never thought it was possible for us to forget about each other. But I guess she managed to do so."

Krystal pursed her lips in thought for a moment. She was thinking of words to console him until she concluded, "That's good then!"

"What?!"

"You can just start from the beginning again without worrying about that painful breakup," Krystal explained innocently. "Start fresh, you know!" She patted his shoulder.

"That's not exactly what I want though." He ran a hand on his face and ruffled his hair. "Because that just means whatever we had before wasn't meaningful to her."

"So what do you want then?"

"I don't know." He buried his face in his hands again.

Chanyeol stood in front of the door to the toddler's room, feeling hesitant just to open it. He could hear the kids' giggles and her laughter from inside.

He had waited six years for her to come back. He had practiced in his mind over and over again what he would say to her when she's back. Yet now that she was already here, he didn't know what to do. He even wished he could undo his wish.

"Chanyeol?"

He whipped his head to the caller and found Miss Moon approaching him.

"Oh. Hello, Miss." He bowed.

"Why aren't you coming inside?" The lady asked with a smile.

"Oh! Uhm. I was just about to." He rubbed the nape of his neck.

"Well, let's go then." Miss Moon put a hand on the door's handle. "I need to speak to you about something too."

"Oppa!" Luna immediately jumped up from sitting down and ran to Chanyeol once the door was opened.

He immediately scooped her up. "Hey, Luna!" He greeted as the girl pecked his cheek.

"Hi!" Bora cheerfully greeted him with a wave. She was sitting down on the floor with kids surrounding her.

Chanyeol's smile fell at the sight of her and he just bobbed his head.

Miss Moon chuckled. "I see that the toddlers really like both of you. So that's why I have decided to let you both be partners. From now on, you both will be in charge of the toddlers' activities," the lady announced.

"Oh! That will be fun!" Bora giggled.

"But since you both are only part-timers," Miss Moon continued, "I will assign someone else to take care of the kids when you're not around." Both Chanyeol and Bora nodded at her words. "Well, that's all!" Miss Moon clapped her hands once. "Have fun kids!" Miss Moon waved.

"Yes, Miss Moon!" The kids replied in unison as the lady exited the room.

"Oppa," Luna, who was still in his arms, called. "You know what? Bora Unnie is teaching us a new song!" She cheerfully said.

"Oh really?" Chanyeol asked with raised brows to entertain the little girl and she nodded. "What song?" He put her down and they both sat down on the floor along with the others. He made sure not to sit close to Bora.

"My Sunshine! Right, Unnie?"

Chanyeol felt his heart skipped a beat at the mention of the song's title.

"Correct!" Bora replied with a clap.

Chanyeol could only stare at her unblinking. Luna's giggle as she told him to learn the song too made him tore his gaze away from her.

It can't be it. It must be another song. He kept on telling himself as Bora told the kids to sing it again with hand movements she had created for them.

"When life gets hard
And I don't know where to go
I look beside me and there you are

When I get sad
And I almost cry
I look at you who smile at me
And I feel alright

When the sky turns grey
And my day turns dark
I look for you who shine so bright
You shine so bright, 
My sunshine."

"Oppa, are you alright?"

Chanyeol could hear Luna's worried whisper, but he couldn't reply her. Every part of his body was frozen. And it was as if all the voices around him was slowly muted. The only part of his body that was still functioning were his eyes. His rounded eyes were zeroed on Bora who was laughing along with the kids as they sang the song over and over again.

It was probably stupid, but this morning he chose to believe in the possibility that she might not be his Bora. His mind tricked him to believe that she might actually be just another girl with the same name who coincidentally looked like her. He made himself believed in it as stupid as it might sound.

But his belief shattered the moment she sang the song.

No way! No one else would know the song! Chanyeol felt his heart beating fast. It really is you! The realization just struck his heart with pain. But you forgot about me?

He was snapped out of his frozen state when Luna kept on shaking his shoulder. He assured her that he was okay and gave her a smile.

After some more singing of other nursery rhymes, they proceeded to playing several games and folding the paper cranes afterwards. But through it all, Chanyeol made sure not to get himself into conversation with Bora. He even purposely avoided her when she was standing or sitting close to him.

His attempts to avoid her didn't go unnoticed by Bora who was trying to get to know him. She didn't understand why he was avoiding her.

Did she make a wrong first impression of herself on him? Was she too loud and cheery to his liking? Did she steal the kids' attention?

The questions floated in her mind. Bora couldn't shake off the feeling of being wronged because he ignored her. She herself didn't understand why it didn't feel right to be ignored by him. She convinced herself that it was just because he wasn't good with new people.

It was then time for the kids to take a nap. Chanyeol took out his guitar and set it on his lap. Jongin and Kyungsoo snuggled closer to where Bora sat. Chanyeol started strumming his guitar to their usual nap song.

Drowned in the melody, Bora closed her eyes as she the boys' heads. The music was familiar to her ears. She remembered her mom used to sing it to her years ago. When Chanyeol started singing, her heart skipped a beat and her eyes fluttered open.

His deep honey voice sent a familiar tingle down her spine. Then there was that fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach again when her eyes landed on his almond-shaped eyes, then his nose, his plump lips, and his fingers that moved on the strings. She remembered feeling this that day she came here when she heard this very song. The funny thing was those feelings felt all too familiar. It was as if she had felt those feelings. For him.

When the kids had fallen asleep, Chanyeol kept playing the guitar. Seeing him in his own bubble made Bora felt a pull in her heart. The sight just made her want to be beside him. She adjusted the blankets over Kyungsoo and Jongin and carefully stood up. She walked to where Chanyeol was and took a seat beside him on the floor. She was determined to make him talk and stop him from ignoring her.

Chanyeol felt himself tensed at the close distance, but chose to focus himself on his guitar.

Bora glanced at Luna who was sleeping close to Chanyeol's side and smiled. "She's really close to you, isn't she?" She whispered.

Chanyeol glanced at the little girl and just nodded without a word. Bora pouted a little at his lack of words.

"So," she breathed out with a sigh, "was it really you?"

"Huh?" He briefly glanced at her but looked away again the next second.

"The prince in the story." Bora pulled her legs close to her chest and hugged them. "Was it a metaphorical story of your own experience?"

Chanyeol just lowered his head at the question, feeling his chest tightened.

"Who's...," Bora carefully continued, "the princess?"

Chanyeol raised his head and turned to look at her. All words died in when his eyes held hers with tender gaze.

It's you! Chanyeol wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

A light knock on the door broke their gazes. A head peeked in and the boy grinned at Chanyeol. Bora blinked at him in confusion.

"Sehun," Chanyeol called over a whisper.

"Hyung," the boy whispered back and gestured with his hand strumming an invisible guitar.

Chanyeol knew what the boy wanted and slowly stood up. "I'll leave the kids with you," he quickly said to Bora before exiting the room.

Bora sighed when he closed the door behind him.

I hope you will like this song I'm writing you, and I wish you will always be my sunshine.